


Violent Souls

by DarkForestWolf



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Attack on Humanity, Betrayal, Friendship/Love, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Murder-Suicide, Spies & Secret Agents, Titans, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-05-07 04:50:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5443925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkForestWolf/pseuds/DarkForestWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin Arlert has been wrongly accused of working under a mysteries clan called the Titans, and as a result he has been taken into custody by an agency called the Survey Corps and forced to work under their orders until proven innocent. Along the way he starts to uncover the secrets and lies of his enemies while struggling to deal with the harsh truth of his past, finding out the hard way that some questions should just be left alone while others forgotten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bystander

**Author's Note:**

> This story is just a little idea I came up with a while back, but never thought about writing up until now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and don't forget to look for notes in the end to see when the next chapter might come out. Please review if you will and many kudo's are welcomed as well!

Everything was starting to fall apart through out the incident that day.

All missions that had been planned ahead began to fail within every run, weapons and military funds started to be taken for granted, and even agents and innocent bystanders started going missing or winding up dead. Nobody could do anything except to wait helplessly and see who was going to be the next target, forced to fight head on into the next battle with their heart in hand and lives on the line, never knowing if they would ever live to see the next day.

Soon after being placed in command, head executive Erwin Smith managed to build up a large fund for the corporation after a traumatic down fall taken place 3 year's ago. Thanks to the help of a few wealthy business men, and lots of convincing, he bought his associates the latest up-to-date high tech machinery, including brand new computer monitors, stronger security and even better weapons - Even new recruits were hired after the downfall, and not only were they good, some even managed to surpass other agents who have been doing their jobs for years.

After the upgrade many citizens had gained the confidence they had lost so long ago, taking in another fresh breath of air as the passing days go by.

However, even with the new recruits and technology, not much change went on. Eren could see that for sure. He bent over backwards for the Survey Corps but never once saw things fully take a turn. He's seen fate turn its ugly head on many other agents such as himself and had even witnessed a few of their last breaths, all thanks to the titans.

Nothing was changing and he couldn't do a damn thing about it on his own.

Eren's sister could say the same thing. Mikasa was one of the best of the best - one of the top agents through out the entire company and even one of the strongest to the other males dismay, but just like everyone else she was seeing and looking at the exact same dilemma. Neither of them just couldn't seem to think of anything that would give them a good lead on the titans exact whereabouts.

It pained Eren and somewhat killed him to know that they could do as they please and take what they like only to get away with it like it was nothing; the government putting their tales between their legs and taking a safe haven through their riches behind it all as the defenseless suffered through it all.

Eren did not only want to capture them, question them, and do whatever needs to be done once they are actually caught.

No.

He wanted to get rid of them all. Single handed without any chance of mercy. He wanted to exterminate them all till not a single one remained.

He wanted that sweet and satisfying taste of pure revenge...

* * *

 

Eren flipped furiously past the continues stacks of papers, going through page after page and not taking longer than a second glance at them before seeping through the next one. When finished he loosely tossed it all aside onto a larger pile and quickly went onto the next set, repeating this method multiple times.

Mikasa stopped typing away at her desk and leaned over past her monitor to get a better view of the younger college, her usual melancholic expression masked across her true features. She watched him for a couple seconds before deciding to speak up - her voice calm, just as it usually was towards the other. She knew how easy it was to send him over the edge.

"Eren, there is nothing in those files. We've already checked them out last week and nothing has been found in any of them." Eren continued to flip through some more papers, going onto the next pile. "Eren." She speaks again, her tone stern.

The male looked up from his work, slamming a firm hand onto his thick and polished glass desk. "I know, but it's worth a try anyways. The damn horse face probably didn't even check anything and wrote down some random crap before giving in his report."

Mikasa gave him a soft look before returning back to her work. "Jean went over his report. I saw him down with Hanji going over a few things before actually signing out yesterday."

Eren frowned and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed and gaze focused on his college. "Ok, but why did he need to see Hanji? Did he find something?" he asked.

"He did. Jean caught a suspect." Eren lifted a brow. "I don't really know that much, but he's now in our custody and is being interviewed as we speak."

"What?" The brunet sat up strait. "Who?"

Mikasa continued to type."I told you, I don't know that much."

"You know enough to tell me someone has actually been captured! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"

"No one was captured, they are just being questioned." Mikasa answered, Eren shrugged.

"Well, it's something!"

He could not believe this. Something actually did turn up after their last mission! He was right to be checking all those old files! Eren quickly started up his computer again and began typing rapidly onto the delicate key board, every key pounded on hard enough to be heard from the next desk over.

Mikasa looked around her monitor again. "What are you doing?"

Some more typing could be heard followed by the printer being activated. "I'm gonna pay this guy a visit."

"This is a bad idea." She warned, turning her attention to the printer.

"Don't care." The taller got up and took his freshly made copies, hastily making way towards the exit. Mikasa immediately started tailing him as soon as he got out his ID and swiped it through the slot mounted on the wall, looking through the eye scanner before the double doors in front of them slid open. "You don't have to follow me you know." He say's looking over his shoulder.

"I don't." Mikasa lightly reached up and tugged at the red scarf gently wrapped around her neck, her sharp attention shifting downward towards the white tiled floor. "But I am."

An audible sigh left Eren as he led the way.

The two walked together in silence, each passing by a few other employees either working on their own project or chatting among others with masked smiles. Not everyone could tell if someone was hiding the pain of loosing a friend or loved one and no one dared to even question it- the usual response being to mimic their behavior or simply just ignoring it all together.

They took the next elevator up a few floors and made it swiftly through another scanning routine before making their way down the newly structured hallway. Higher ranked officers glared in distaste as the newer recruits came by, Eren doing his best to keep suppress his anger as it slowly started to surface when the whispers and light chuckling started to come about.

Mikasa just kept quite along side him. She spotted a certain red head come out of the rest room, laughing and chatting with another female companion, and was generally surprised when she gave her a kind, gentle smile before playfully being tugged away by the other, giving her no time to respond to the kind gesture. Mikasa quietly decided to wave off the incident and focus on what was ahead of her.

"Oh, you two! I'm sorry, do you need anything right now because if it can wait that would be very helpful at the moment." asked a feminine, loud voice giving the two a startle. The women was taller than the both of them, her oily light brown hair tide up in a messy high pony tail. She smiled and tried to wave but ended up re-balancing herself back into position as she almost dropped one of the fairly large boxes being carried, covering the upper half of her being.

Eren flinched and made his way to help. "Uh, Miss. Hange-"

"I got it! I got it! You should be more worried about those loose tiles above us rather than myself. Poor Moblit was almost crushed by one of those thanks to the poor maintenance work on installing the new security system. Seriously, how hard it to install one lousy camera!" She stumbled again putting the brunet on a higher alert. "Anyways, what brings you two here? There must be a reason, seeing that you already know what happened to the other newbie who snooped around up here without permission."

"Um." Eren regained his poster and glanced around the boxes to get a better look at the women. "I wanted to see how the interrogation was going."

The female grinned. "Oh, I see. Well that can easily be arranged!"

"R-Really?"Eren blinked twice, pulled back by the approval.

Hange put the boxes down with a heavy thud and a small 'huff', stretching her arms across her head and breathing in a huge intake of air after putting down the heavy load. "Sure - sure, I really don't see any harm in it as long as Shadis doesn't find out about it. He's still your boss and all, but I think this is a great learning experience for the new comers - you finally get to see the pro's be put to work! Now lets hurry up before we get caught. Eren, was it?"

He gave a nervous nod.

"Great! Now lets go!"

Mikasa looked down at the boxes bellow, abandoned and forgotten. "What about these?"

Hange carelessly shrugged. "Eh, maybe Olou or someone else will do it, probably Levi if i'm lucky." She lead the way in excitement as the others followed at a quick pace, turning around only once to motion them to speed up. Both Eren and Mikasa knew doing this was a terrible idea, but neither wanted to question the women nor her antics. She was well known to have a rebellious personality and a daring anger when someone got on her bad side. Not only was she rumored to have boldly gone up against the higher class on her own accord, but it was said that she was proven to be somewhat mad, despite being one of the top scientists in the institute, and is said she is kept on constant super vision by the government at all times.

Of course, this was a stupid rumor that only started a few weeks ago so Eren really paid no mind to it. Hange was actually one of the very few workers in the facility that didn't seem to despises having him and the other new members of the agency, welcoming all of them with open arms after introducing herself to everyone on their first day. If he didn't know any better, he would of thought Hange was perfectly fine and just simply saw the world differently than most. That wasn't a bad thing, right? Of course, there were a few things she did he rather would consider a little...off.

Mikasa's voice broke his thoughts as she willingly interrupted the scientist from whatever conversation she brought up, catching the both's attention. She started with a few simple questions, as of how long they were going to do this and the chances of getting caught, but wasn't given a very clear answer in the end, Hange just reminding the two not to worry so much and let her handle things.

When they arrived Hange quickly turned to face them once more, arms crossed and in one hand her ID. She smiled at both of them, an excitement shimmer in her wide brown eyes. "I only have one rule for you guys and that is to not try and make any contact with the suspect, understood?" The teens agreed, Eren more eager than the other. "Great!"

She punched in a few digits into a small monitor mounted on the before entering, the movement swift and effortless as it was one of the most common routines of her day.

Both Eren and Mikasa's eyes began to adjust too the lighting system in the small room. It was very dim inside, and nothing got better when the door behind them was shut blocking out whatever light came from the outside. Only now a small machine with some loose wires sprawled out along the floor could be seen, a tall male figure leaning over it tampering with the new devise.

Hange called out to the man and casually placed both hands in the pockets of her lab coat, her mangled hair slightly falling out of place as she shifted her head in his direction. "Erwin?" She asked with surprise.

Eren stiffed at the name and held his place, back strait and hands to his side as he was somewhat tempted to solute. Mikasa faced the other with no signs of interest, her poster however wavering as she straitened herself out more.

A deep, smooth voice came from the man as he looked up from the machine spotting the trio, his blue eyes facing brown as he glared at the outspoken other. "Hange, what is the meaning of this?"

Hange walked over to the devise and took over, pulling up a chair placed to the side and taking a seat. "I was returning some evidence back to the lab but ran into these two on the way. Never thought you would be here though Erwin, let alone tampering with my toys- Why is this red button glowing?"

"Hange, these two shouldn't be here." He faced the uninvited guests and crossed his long arms. "Why did you bring them in?"

The machine created an ear piercing screech that filled the small area making everyone cringe. Hange clicked her tongue in distaste and scowled, flicking some switches at random and somehow diminishing the sound to her relief.

"I brought them here for a reason actually, a hypothesis mind you." She states. "You see, our suspect was caught in a terrible position and can't really seem to give us any information" Her head nudged upward suggesting to the wide, see through window presented on the wall above the monitor, covering almost the entire right side of the room. Eren was surprised he hadn't noticed earlier. "I want them to examine his behavior for a minute."

Erwin hesitated but abruptly left it at that. He gestured for the two other agents to come closer, giving them a better look through the looking glass. "You speak about this to no one, understood?" he demanded. "It may not be vital information, but telling to many people can possibly lead this to the wrong person, putting the boy in danger." The two solemnly agreed to his request with a nod. "Good."

Eren shifted forward and took in the site. He spotted another high ranking agent sitting across from what he assumed was the witness, a young male about his age but his head cloaked with thin blond hair. He was sitting in a small chair with his eyes locked onto the interrogation table, some sweat beating off his pale forehead and his bottom lip grasped lightly between his front teeth.

He was nervous, and it wouldn't take a genius to even figure that out. Mikasa caught a small glimpse of the hands on his lap, mildly shaking and trembling with fear. "What does he know?" She asked calmly.

Hange was concentrating hard on the machine before her. "Kirstein mentioned him running from the scene and was never caught, up until now of course. No one knows why or how he got there so we've been asking him questions, however he rarely responds."

Eren never wavered. "So what does this mean for us?"

"You mean what does this mean for you." She pushed the glowing red button and another screeching sound came about. "Really, Erwin what did you do?!"

"Why is Eren involved in this?" Mikasa questions again.

"Because in the report it says he had his wrist watch. You know, the one that you got a few weeks ago at the pawn shop."

The brunet turned to the blonds wrist spotting the black devise. "What? Why does he have that? I thought I lost that thing."

"That's what we wanna know, hence the reason why your here." She got up from her chair and pushed it aside, stepping past Erwin and plugging in a fallen cord back into the outlet on the floor. "This should do!"

No further questions were asked as a voice beyond the glass came through, the agent inside closing a small file and displaying a few pictures out onto the cold steel table in front of the boy. She hardened her gaze as she stared intensely at the witness. Hange adjusted the microphone's volume bringing it up a few dials, the voice inside became much clearer to understand.

"Mr. Arlert. I know how hard all this is for you but we need information." The young man in front of her sat frozen, not a single response given. She decided to try again, her voice mellow. "Do you have any connection with anyone in this association? Do you recognize any of these victims?" The teen swallowed hard. He took a quick glance at the photo's on the table giving the female some hope, but evidently looked away in discuss, covering his mouth as he held back a small gag. "Mr. Arlert?"

"I wanna go home." He spoke in a small voice, the microphone barley picking up on it.

The women sighed and slowly started to gather up the photo's, placing them back in the file. She gave him a sad glance as she stood to leave. "I think were done here for now..."

And with that she left, a small click of the door echoing through the room as it shut leaving the blond alone. He finally looked up from his position and tentatively braced himself, frantically looking around for any signs of escape. He looked forward staring into the glass ahead of him only to see his reflection starring back. He reached out to grasp the watch around his wrist and slowly began to trace the digital devise with his fingers.

The scientist sighed and folded her arms, leaning back into her chair. "Well, Nanaba couldn't get anything out of him after all. Strange, she's usually the best one to do this kind of stuff to." She turned to Erwin. "So now what?"

"Aren't you the one who had the idea? Your the one who brought these two in here for a reason."

Hange smirked. "So you will let me go along with my little plan?"

"As long as you don't cause any damage this time."

Her grin widened with delight. "Alright then! Eren, I need you to-" The witness inside got out of his chair and started to pace about, catching the females eye again. He tired to open the door but failed as it was locked, hitting it hard with his fist in frustration.

"Can I please go now!?" He spoke in a much louder, eager tone than before, shifting the rooms silence; Erwin unfazed as the others were pulled back by the sudden outburst.

The witness spoke again."I need to go home eventually, right? I don't know anything, I swear!" He took off his watch and carelessly threw it on the table. "You want that, no!? Just take it and let me go already! I need to go home!" Everything seemed tense now, and it was very uncomfortable to the small blond. He glanced back at the glass, seemingly looking past it's thick layer and staring directly at the agents on the other side, eyes wide in desperation. He dropped his head into his hands and lowered his voice, dry and shaken with fear. "I just wanna go home..."

Mikasa noticed her brother's pitiful stare and hesitated to try and fix his discomfort. Instead she turned away and focused on the witness in the other room.

"How long has he been here by the way?" The brunet asked in a softer tone, Hange answered.

"For about 6 hours now. Yet, he still hasn't given us anything."

Mikasa chimed in. "Maybe he actually doesn't know anything."

"Perhaps, but we aren't letting him go until we know for certain."

"And this isn't taking it to far?" Eren asked, Hange shrugged. "Ok then. How about we try your idea?"

She hummed happily and snatched up the printed papers from the boys hands, taring them in half and tossing them in the trash bin near by. "Of course! I need you and Mikasa to come with me again." She gently pushed the both of them out the door and locked it tight, leaving Erwin inside.

A large grin came across her face as she placed both hands on her hips with pride. "I want you both to live with him for a while. The poor thing must be frightened out of his mind by all this and seeing that he has a possible connection with you two, considering the watch and all, I don't really see the harm."

Eren took in the idea, but quickly spoke back to the higher up without thinking, his voice rising at a dangerous level. "What?! But we barley know him, what if he's working for the Titans?! He could be one of the best assassins for all we know!"

"Eren." Mikasa warned.

"Yes, there is that, but don't think i'm just sending you in blind with him. We will secure the house with hidden cameras and microphones so we know whats going on at all times. You will also be given a small devise allowing you both to contact us in case something horrible happens - like one of you getting killed or something." She saw the look of warning on Mikasa's face. "I mean, it doesn't have to end in death, seeing how strong you both are. Just make sure you don't tell him anything and make absolute certainty that you don't lose him. He stays in your sites at all times."

"Hold on, I don't think we should do this at all! Mikasa this isn't a good idea."

Mikasa retorted. "I'm gonna have to agree with Eren. I don't like this idea either."

"Oh come on guys." Hanji pointed her thumb at the door behind them. "You saw how he was in there, if Armin was really a threat we would have already had Levi on his tail. He probably is just an innocent citizen who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, give him a chance. " She pulled out a slip of folded paper from her pocket and unwrapped it. "This is all you need to know about him. I looked up his name on the internet and it didn't take very much to find out about him."

Eren took the sheet and quickly scanned over the many words. It didn't have much but it did have enough information to prove him a common citizen - such as his full name, were he works, were he lives, how much he makes a year, and even a bit of his past. A profile picture was even provided showing him at a much younger age, sitting next to an elderly man holding a small present in front of a white, golden decorated Christmas tree. Perhaps taken about five years ago?

"See, he can't be all that bad." The scientist pointed at the old photo at the bottom. "Look at this, does this look like the face of evil?"

Mikasa took and extra moment to stare at the picture before giving her answer, hesitantly looked away as she spoke. "I guess he can stay, for a little while that is." The brunet went to speak but was silenced with the lift of her hand. "I'll watch him closely, Armin was it?"

Hanji nodded vigorously. "That's it! So you except!?"

Mikasa nodded.

"Great! I'll go sign the papers and tell Erwin the plan. Oh, and don't forget!" She pulls out two rings and slips it on both of their fingers. They were very identical to the companies well known icon, the wings of freedom they call it. "These are very important. They will prove that you both are now fully undercover agents, so it would be a real shame if these got lost or ended up in the wrong hands." She looked back at Eren pointing to her wrist. "I wouldn't want it to end up like that wrist watch now."

"Alright fine, I'll go along with your plan - and I promise not to loose this." Eren tapped the ring feeling the cool metal attached to it. "Is this also the alarm?"

"Yep, so now you really need to depend on it. I'm going to talk to Erwin now, so if all goes according to plan someones going to take you to his house by the end of the day."

Mikasa lifted a brow. "His house?"

Hanji perked up. "Oh yeah, your house is probably full of stuff containing our property such as your badges or weapons, so if he is working for the Titans it would probably be best to keep him away from all that. On the upside, his house is probably littered with stuff you can find, so just snoop around a little. He can't refuse, so it was really easy putting all this together."

A loud buzz disrupted the trio, the noise coming directly from the scientists shirt pocket. She pulled out her phone and flipped it open reading whatever message was sent to the devise, a chuckle leaving her chapped lips as she put it away. "Well, Levi discovered the mess of boxes I left earlier and doesn't seem to happy, guess I gotta go now." Hanji turned to step away but was stopped with another buzz. "And apparently he want's me to do this fast before my lab privileges are taken again. What!? Aw come on, he can't do that! It's literally like my job to work in there, what will I do if he does that!?"

"Uh," Eren's voice caught her attention again. He pointed to the outside through one of the fairly large windows placed on the wall. "Do we get ready now or-?"

"Oh, you won't be going home today because I have everything you already need: Clothes, shoes, underwear, and more. It's all part of the agreement, so we've got you covered. I'm even giving you the companies credit card to spend what you like, just try not to over do it - and with all that being said, i'm off!"

Hanji waved a short goodbye to the two before turning her back to leave. After she left the director himself stepped out of the interrogation room, startling the agents at the sound of his voice. He stood in front of at the both of them and slowly looked around. "I see Hanji already left." He asked, almost a little disappointed.

The raven haired girl answered almost instantly. "She wants us to stay with the witness- Armin, for a while. We'll be keeping a close watch on him for the time being and monitoring his every move to see if he's actually innocent." She corrected herself.

Eren slowly looked away. It was still some what uncomfortable following through with the idea, let alone talking about it with your head boss.

Erwin stared at the girl in question. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Mikasa agreed. "But she mentioned going over it with you."

"Then why didn't she stay?"

"She had something else to do in the mean time."

He thought about it for a moment, eyes darting between both agents. Eren could feel his heart giving into the pressure as it started to pound heavily, his poster stiffing up in his presents. It wasn't everyday someone such as himself got to meet the head director of the entire corporation. He struggled at thought of taking it as an honor or something else entirely different.

"Alright." Erwin finally answered, Eren silently let out all the air he unknowingly held back. "I'll go through with the plan. However, there will be sever consequences if things go south. Not only will you pay for it but anyone else involved as well. The government will get on your case and things will get nasty."

"Yes, sir." Eren responded almost immediately, Mikasa nodded.

"Alright then. Well, I'll go and have Mr. Arlert ready. I'm also going to inform Hange and everyone else with the plan as well. Be ready to head out by nine."

"Yes commander!" Eren replies and solutes proudly, his right hand clenched in a fist and placed over his heart, while the other behind his back. Mikasa does the same along side him.

With a confirmed nod, Erwin left the two of them alone once again.

Eren released his stance and turned to face his sister, his voice uncertain. "You really think this is a good idea?"

Mikasa looked down at her ring. "No, but I will protect you no matter what, so just stay by my side and keep your distance from Armin."

Eren crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself you know. I'm not helpless nor am I weak so just lay off would ya?"

Mikasa frowned. "But Eren-"

"No buts! Just let me do my job as an agent and you do yours."

She wanted to protest further, but figured it would get her nowhere in the end, just like the other arguments they've had in the past; Eren had a thick skull that was very tough to crack. With a sigh of defeat, she solemnly agreed to the idea, fulfilling it with an empty promise. "Very well."

Eren eyed her carefully before turning away. "Alright then."

"By the way Eren, do you really know how you lost that watch?" Mikasa asks calmly, catching his attention again.

"Hm?"

"The wrist watch the witness has."

"I thought I lost it a few days ago after the training session we all had with Mr. Shadis," he explained. "I took it off and forgot to put it back on again when we were done, I never realized it was missing until I go home."

"Were did you put it?"

The male shrugged. "Dunno, never really cared for that thing anyways. I bought it because it looked kinda cool, but when I put it on the timer constantly stopped or it would just reset."

Mikasa tilted her head in question. "When did it start acting up?"

"Does any of this really matter now?"

"Eren we need as much information as we can get right now, even if it starts with just a cheap wrist watch." She protests, Eren rolled his eyes.

"It stopped working properly after the second day I bought it."

The older thought about it for a second, focusing on the tiles bellow her feet. She then looked back up to face the other. "Very well."

"Finally. Now let's go get ready, it's already 8:00."

The two left their positions and quietly started to head back the way they came, making light conversation about the whole plan along the way; Eren still very uncertain about the whole idea and consistently complained about the terrible 'what if's' of what might happen. Mikasa did her best to try and comfort him along the way, holding back her own opinions about the idea. She wasn't very fond of it herself really, but now knowing that her brother was being targeted by a possible threat, the last thing she wanted to do was leave him alone with the enemy. For all she knew their soon to be new house guest could be a wolf in sheep's clothing just waiting to strike him at the right moment - Mikasa would lay her own life down before something like that were to happen.

Eren continued to ramble on about the plan as they both got into the elevator, never noticing the disdainful frown hiding behind the girls red fabric.

* * *

 

Armin gasped at the sound of the door clicking open and instantly froze in his seat. A very tall man he had met a few hours before - Mike if he remembered the name correctly - stepped inside, holding a small black bag in one hand while the other hung carelessly to his side. He motioned his head for the blond to get up and follow him.

"Let's go." Mike ordered in a low voice, his gaze sharp. Armin stared at him in disbelief and hesitated, hands on the table and legs firmly planted on the floor. Was he able to leave now?

"Your going home, just like you asked."

Blue eyes were lit wide with hope as the boy perked up in his seat. "I-I am?" he asked quietly, waiting patiently for any signs of a joke or cheap trick. They were going to let him go that easy? Just like that? After hours of questioning? Maybe they finally decided to believe him after all-

He gulped and took notice of the black bag in the man's hand. "What is that?" he asked.

Mike held it up giving him a better look. "This is what you'll be wearing until we get you home. Now hurry up, we have one hour to get you ready."

"To get me ready? F-for what?" Armin stuttered. He cautiously stepped out of his chair and slowly made his way towards the exit, just like a rabbit peaking out of it's hole after so long.

"I'll explain after your done changing." Mike says, letting the blond walk ahead of him with a light push. He gave him specific directions on were to go, such as were to make the next turn and what stairs he needed to take, the entire time Armin couldn't help but have the sense of dread and fear wash over him - endless questions forced away but anxiously waiting to be answered. He really had to be careful with how he speaks and who too - who knows what else they might think of him if he spoke out of place.

After coming face to face with two large double doors Mike gently pushed Armin aside and opened them with a quick tug, stepping inside himself before allowing the other to follow. Armin scanned the room cautiously, instantly noticing the familiarities of it's features. It was a large wash room filled with unattended shower stalls and very few changing areas, some neatly folded bath towels placed near one of the stall doors.

"Here." The agent unexpectedly handed over the black bag into pale arms, the user blinking twice in response to the action. "After your done washing yourself put on whatever's inside here, I'll be just outside so don't think you can try anything funny. When your done just come on out and meet me."

Armin zipped open the bag examining the clean fabric inside. A brown T-shirt was displayed followed with some grey sweatpants neatly packed inside, a few toiletries placed in a bag as well. He nervously looked up at the tall agent in question."Why do I need to take a shower here? I can take one when I get home you know."

"You could." Mike retorted. "However, the captain wants you to at least make yourself presentable before you put on the rest of your disguise. Also, the way you look now can give some others a bad impression of you."

A light blush crept across the teens face as he looked away embarrassed. "I smell that bad?"

"No. It's the way you look right now that would bother some of our agents."

Armin flinched and looked down at his clothes. He never really considered how he looked after being captured and practically held hostage for half the day, the thought never crossed his mind once. His plaid shirt, originally covered in a soft color of blue and green, was now torn and plastered with stains that would surely never come out, and his khaki jeans were in no better shape. It pained him to actually think about what his hair looked like and he definitely wasn't gonna stick around any mirror to find out. He generally made a face noticing one of the buttons to his shirt was missing and muttered under his breath."This day just keep getting better and better," he thought.

Mike coughed into his hand regaining his guests full attention. He was now halfway out the door. "Let me know when your finished." he states before finally shutting the door after taking his leave, leaving the other alone.

Only seconds went by before nothing but silence filled the empty void surrounding him, giving Armin a much better environment to think things through with a clear head. He took in a deep breath and stood perfectly still for a moment to collect his thoughts, staring into his black bag. Were was he anyways? Why was he here? His heart sped up as many other sudden questions came crashing down on him all at once. Did anyone even know were he was? How long had he been here? Was he even anywhere near home?

Nothing made sense at all.

It was such a normal day for him only just few hours ago if not longer - He woke up and got ready to go to work like he always did, taking the same rout and everything to get there, and making great time to have his everyday breakfast meal at his favorite coffee shop. The next thing he knew gunshots and screaming could be heard sending everyone around him into a huge panic; mothers picking up their children and screaming for the husbands, business men getting off the phone and searching for the cause before other shots were fired - It was a scene that would be very hard to forget.

Armin never had the chance to get away before a gun was pointed directly at him from the back of his head, the owner of it screaming at him about something to do with promises and payment - it was very hard to hear over the commotion around him so he couldn't say for certain.

Everything else after that became a blur.

The last thing he remembers was running away from someone who started to chase him, finding him hiding down in an ally way covered in filth. After being caught Armin was placed here and hasn't seen the outside since, forcefully being locked away and put into hours of interrogation. It all went down so fast that he completely forgot about the busy scheduled he had for today, a schedule he would never be able to fulfill now that is. What was he suppose to tell his friends when he got home? Were they even really letting him go?

Armin turned on the shower head by clicking one of the blinking buttons underneath it, almost melting in delight with the heat it produced. He closed his eyes and soaked in the calming liquid that bounced off his skin, soaking his hair and face until he was satisfyingly warm.

Only a couple hours ago did the world make sense to him - It was hard to believe how much things have changed since then. It was frightening thinking about how this will all turn out in the end, but for now, while everything felt at peace, he just wanted to feel what was right - what felt like the only normal thing that came from the simple world he was once apart of.

Tears started to swell up in the blonds eyes as he bit tightly onto his quivering lip, the empty room echoing his silent cry as the small droplets of water hit the ground bellow.

He was never fond with the thought of being alone.


	2. Stains of Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallen ones of a crowd should never be forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank all that had reviewed this story so far! Don't worry, it will get a LOT more interesting soon, I have many surprises for future chapter and even the next chapter, so stay tuned!

Eren took his badge and slipped it into his pocket, looking over to his sister who was waiting for him by the door. Mikasa suggested that they tried to look a little more casual before meeting Armin, saying that it would calm him down more if they dressed more casual,so before leaving the two of them took off there gear and slipped it into the small carrying bags given to them. Hange was right when she said that they would have everything they needed before leaving, but Mikasa still thought that they should go and bring back some of their own clothes from their own small apartment. Who knows how long it'll be before they ever go back there.

Eren sighed and crossed his arms, staring at the large stair well in front of him. "So how much longer do we have to wait here?"

Mikasa took her eyes off the luggage and turned to the other. "Just wait a little longer, i'm sure he'll be down soon."

"But it's almost eight and he's still not down yet." He took out his phone and slid the lock open to check the time. "We have 5 minutes."

"Then we wait 5 minutes."

"Are you not in the least bit worried about all this?"

The female looked away, uncertain about her answer. "I'm not worried about Armin, I'm worried more about what he knows. What if he asks us questions we can't answer?"

"Like what?"

"Like how much closer are we into defeating the titans."

Eren thought about the question as he put away his phone. Not everyone talked about or brought up many conversations involving the blood-thirsty killers, it was usually just best to avoid mentioning their name at all. He really didn't know how to answer the question himself. "Good point, but I don't even think he knows much about them. If possible he's probably not even from the Maria district at all, he could be from Rose or somewhere further South for all we know."

"Not quite." Mikasa retorted. "I read the entire form Hange gave us earlier and it states that he actually is from Maria."

"He is?" Mikasa gave him a slow nod. "Which district?"

"It didn't say, but I thought about asking him."

"What else did it mention?" he asks, but before she could answer the sound of heavy footsteps turned her attention back towards the stairwell, eyes coming into contact with one of her superiors.

Eren smiled looking up at the man coming down. "Mr. Zacharias!" He greets, also spotting the familiar blond he had seen earlier walking beside him. He looked much better then he did before, giving Eren a better depiction of his face. He looked very nervous, eyes wide and glued to the ground bellow as he mindlessly approached him with little effort.

Armin pulled up his head for only a moment and frowned, spotting other busy agents walking around here and there, some already taking notice of his presence and giving him uncomfortable glares. He gulped silently, feeling the familiar lump in his throat coming back.

"You two must be the agents I've been told about." Mike spoke as he approached the two.

Eren was quick to answer. "Yes sir!" he says, Mikasa only gave him a blank stare. She looked over at Armin who hung his head low. He looked as if he really wanted to speak, but just couldn't think of the right words to say. She figured he was still a little shaken up after all that's happened to him.

"These two will be keeping an eye on you from now on." Mike states plainly to his companion, only given a small nod in response.

Eren quietly examined the smaller carefully. He really didn't look like any sort of enemy from up close, just a normal civilian. To him nothing seemed that unusual about him. "So your Armin, no?" he asked bluntly, Armin flinched and slowly nodded again.

Mikasa jumps into the light conversation. "My name is Mikasa Acherman. This is my brother Eren."

Armin looked up at her and made an effort to speak, but nothing came out. He quickly turned away embarrassed, a tint of blush spreading across his pale cheeks as he nervously held his arm. Mikasa actually looked quite lovely from behind the red scarf she wore - with her fair, blemish free white skin and silk like black hair, she almost looked like a very valuable Japanese antique doll. It was hard to even tell if she had applied any sort of makeup on her face, excluding the light chap-stick she wore. Did she even need to wear makeup? Armin took in a short breath and looked up to face the female, feeling a bit more confident than before.

"Hey." he answers softly, his voice dry and slightly shaken.

Mikasa gave him a small smile, Eren slightly stunned to see her do so. She wasn't the most expressive person he or anyone else knew, so seeing this was quite the surprise.

"Oh wow, I see you two have already introduced yourselves!"

The four of them turned around towards the sudden voice and spotted Hange coming around the corner. Mike scrunched up his face and looked away in disgust. Armin took a step closer to Mikasa.

Hange smirked. "Oh come on Mike, do I really not appeal to your liking at all? I won't be very long with you this time so just grin and bare with me for a little longer, ok? Oh! And nice to see you again Mr. Arlert."

Armin lifted his hand and gave her a brief and awkward wave. "Y-yeah...You to."

"Anyways, you three come with me. I'm going to explain a few more things before you go."

"Were are we going?" Mikasa asks.

Hange walked up to the entrance door and pushed it open. "Just outside, promise."

They all stepped out into the night air feeling the cool breeze brush past them, Armin shuttering in response and embracing himself with a low shiver, tempted to go back inside. He did have on a nice and heavy jacket this morning, knowing how cold it would be latter on in the day, he never thought he would be missing that old thing...

Eren noticed his actions and lifted a brow. "Cold?"

Armin looked away and shook his head. "No-no, i'm perfectly fi-" Another shudder betrayed him, followed by a tight sneeze. Why was it so cold!?

Eren frowned and started to take off his jacket. "Here take this. I'm not that cold anyways."

"W-wha?" Armin stuttered, eyeing the kind gesture held out for him wanting. He knew he shouldn't take it! But the air was starting to grow quite thin and the last thing he wanted was to catch a cold now at a time like this! Another gust of wind flew by, forcing the blond to give into the heavy arguments temptation with another shudder. He carelessly took and draped Eren's coat over himself, giving into it's blissful warmth in merely seconds with a sigh of content. It felt so good compared to his own coat, a coat that was only held together by a few strings. This one made him feel much better. And if he had to admit, it felt a little...safe.

"Better?" Eren asks innocently.

Armin opened his eyes and gave the agent a warm smile, facing him for the very first time since their meeting without feeling the harsh tension of anxiety. "Yes, thank you."

The other just nodded in response and shoved both hands into his pocket. Hange chuckled. "Gee, that was sweet of you Eren. I don't think I've ever witnessed that side of you before."

Eren shrugged. "He was cold, so I gave him a jacket, big deal."

"Yes, but still~!" She playfully retorts with a hum while putting both hands behind her back.

Eren narrowed his eyes at the scientist. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Anyways, my assistant Moblit will be the one taking you guys home, he's the one over there in the green car with the headlights on. Now remember exactly what I told you before and try not to break the rules, ok? Oh! And Armin, I need you to do me a small favor before you go."

Armin snapped out of his peaceful daze and frowned. "A favor?"

"Yes, just hold out one of your hands for a bit and close your eyes. I won't do anything bad I promise."

All eyes were on him curiously as he willingly put out his hand for the scientist, eyes closed for only a moment before a wave of sharp pain went up his entire arm and quickly down his spine. He let out a small yelp in alarm and quickly pulled away.

"All done! See, I just took a small blood sample from you, that's all. Thank you for your corporation." Hange states as she happily examines the small DNA sample she had taken from him.

"What?!" Armin looked down at his hand and saw a small drop of blood poking out past the skin. "What kind of shot was that? My entire arm felt that."

"That's normal, no need to worry. Not only does this baby take a sample of your blood but it also checks your temperature and your heart rate as well. The feeling you just had now was only a side affect to the amount of air pressure released into you for the scan."

"How long have you had that?" Mike asked as he eyed the tool.

"Not long. This is my first time testing it though."

Armin used the sleeve of his shirt to help stop the bleeding of his hand, placing the cloth against the punctured flesh wound. Was this something he was going to have to get use to from now on? Maybe he was just being slightly paranoid, but how much longer would it take for him to get away from all this?

The sudden sound of gunshots near by put the group on high alert as everything around them came to a sudden halt. The steady beat of his own heart was the only thing Armin could hear as the shots echoed into the thin air, images of his first encounter with the sound running through his mind as instincts screamed at him to take cover and hide.

More shots were fired followed by the screams of many as agents started pulling out their own weapons and getting into position. Mike made an attempt to give out orders and have everyone get to safety, but was instantly cut off by the ear piercing screech of a car swerving it's way into the opened entrance way of the facility. A masked man inside rolled down the window and pointed his revolver at an open crowd before taking fire, catching one or two agents off guard as they were shot at multiple times before hitting the ground dead. Armin opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out, he couldn't take his eyes of the gunman no matter how hard he tried, shocked and petrified as the vehicle came at him fast.

He felt a strong hand tug at him hard as shouts and demands from everywhere fell on deaf ears, the site of more men and women falling to the floor covered in red. Eren pulled out his own weapon and fired a few times, aiming at another masked figure as it quickly ducked behind near by cargo. The brunet cursed under his breath and shot at the figure some more, screaming at the coward for it to come out and face him! Mikasa grabbed him by the wrist with the shout of his name and pulled him along side her as she ran hard and fast to take cover, Armin in her other hand as she took him by the arm.

The three of them, followed by their two superiors, managed to get behind one of the trucks parked close to the entrance way of the agency, supposedly ready to haul up their old equipment and send it away. Hange pulled out her phone and hastily punched in a few numbers while Mike loaded his gun and poked himself around the corner for any signs of an enemy

Eren shrugged off his sister and readied his gun once more, making his way to the other side of the truck to open fire. He was quickly turned around by the shoulder and came face to face with the female again, his brows furrowed together as he intensely stared at her in anger. "Mikasa, let me go! I can do this on my own!" He shouted.

"Eren, you can't-" Mike fired twice and took cover before more were fired back at him, Armin covering his ears and crouching down closer to the ground. Mikasa continued. "You can't do this on your own! Right now we need to-"

"We need to fight back, that's what!" Eren interrupted. "Damn it, why now!? Why are they attacking us all of a sudden!?"

"Were under attack by who!?" Armin almost screamed as more shots could be heard. "The Titans!?"

Hange pulled Armin closer after putting her phone away. "Levi's not picking up! He must already know what's happening right now!" She yelled over to Mike who only shifted his eyes over to her for a second. "We need a plan to get Armin to saftey, they might be after him!"

Armin turned to her in alarm. "What, why me!?"

Eren's instantly turned to look at Armin in shock, directly aiming the weapon at him.

Armin's heart dropped.

"You did this!" Eren screamed at him, his voice higher and teeth clenched. Mikasa stepped in front of him and held out her hands ready to defend, only to be shoved away. The blond made an attempt to get back on his feet and run, but could only crawl back away from the shooter, eyes wide with fear.

He scrambled around for words at the top of his head. "W-what!? I didn't do any of this!"

"Your lying!" Eren retorted, gaze cold.

"I'm not, I swear!" Armin swallowed and crept behind Hange again. "I'm innocent!"

"I'll kill you, you bastard!"

"Please, stop! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Eren stop it, now!" Mikasa demanded. Hange just stared at him with a blank expression, her usual open self now masked.

Armin continued to defend himself. "Why would I do this then!? What makes you think I did it at all!?"

"Your the only one who managed to get away from the last attack that took place earlier today, and conveniently your here were another one is being taken place!"

"Wait, what?" He flinched when Mike started firing once more, crouching back down on instinct. Did he just say he was the only one who got away? What happened to the rest of the crowd?

Armin shook his head, pushing the thought aside. "Look, I really didn't lead them here or anything at all! I was just going to work today until all of this happened and I was trapped here by you guys! Believe me when I tell you that i'm just a normal guy who got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, I have nothing to do with any of this at all!"

Eren refused to give in easily, he just couldn't!

He gripped the gun tighter and widened his gaze. "Stop lying and tell me the truth!"

"I am, I swear! If I weren't telling the truth I would already be telling you, whats the point in hiding it now!?"

"What proof do you have to prove me wrong!?"

"Eren, I am literally on my knees right now- what more proof do you want!?" Tears started to form in his eyes as he held himself closer to his protector. "I'm innocent!"

"That's it!" Eren readied his gun again and closed one eye, aiming for the blond hair poking up from behind the scientists shoulder.

Armin gasped. "No, please don't!"

The agent felt his blood start to boil in furry, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as he straitened his poster. His pupils dilated and shook.

"THEN QUIT LYING!"

"I'M NOT LYING!"

Mike's eyes widened when he spotted the enemy's vehicle take a sharp turn in his direction, another masked figure inside holding a small object as he bit on a string attached to it and yanked it loose. He tossed it over to the truck while driving by and pulled out another, repeating the same method and tossing the next elsewhere.

"GRENADE!" Mike warned and ran off in the opposite direction.

Hange got up and off the floor in seconds, dragging Armin along side her to run for cover, Mikasa doing the same with Eren as they all went their separate ways. She wrapped the blond in her arms and jumped into the grass as the bomb was set off, blinding the teen for only a moment as a bright flash erupted from the small devise.

Armin's ears rang as the commotion around him became muffled and faint, the sound of other explosions being set off echoed with screams of terror. He forcefully pried open his eyes and sat up, vision coming clear from the blur of the impact. He turned around and stared in shock as Hange lied there motionless, the side of her head leaking with blood.

Hands shook the lifeless figure but not a single response was given. Armin picked himself off the ground with shaking limbs, wiping the blood dripping from his nose.

"This isn't happening! This isn't happening!" He told himself over and over again trying to calm his nerves- it wasn't working in the slightest. He frantically scanned the area, searching for any signs of life- any at all! To his horror body's could be seen sprawled about everywhere leaking heavily of their own fluids, a dismembered hand only yards away from were he stood.

His heart pounded heavily in his chest. "Oh my god..."

More shots were fired into the air before a figure collided with him, knocking him back off his feet. A cry of pain came from him as his head collided with the ground, arms and legs flailing about trying to get away from the force. A large hand cupped his mouth concealing his cries for help.

"I got the kid!" The masked man screamed yanking himself and his captive off the floor, his grip tightening around the small teen. Armin struggled some more, fingernails piercing skin to break free. The man ordered for him to stop and yanked at his hair hard, forcing another cry from the blond.

A single bullet to the head stopped his motives as the man loosened himself away from the teen, hitting the ground with a heavy 'thud' just as Armin pushed himself away.

"Are you ok?" Came a voice -Mikasa's voice- as she put her gun down and rushed to his aid.

Armin was too terrified to speak, eyes focused on the body at his feet. He noticed a small knife in the mans hand. Was he going to kill him?!

"Armin, snap out of it! I need you to come with me! Now!" Spoke the female as she tried to take him by the wrist.

"But-" He looked back to were he left Hange. "What about her!?"

"Right now we need to get you to safety!"

"But everyone else-" He started but was cut off.

"There's a plan, just follow-"

Both heads jerked back as another enemy vehicle pulled in through the open gateway, ramming on the brakes with a sharp turn and letting out the people held inside. Mikasa took aim and fired only once before the gun started to 'click'.

Armin froze.

"Y-your out!?" He asks hesitantly, eyes widening as she tossed the gun to the ground and ordered him to run.

One of the masked figures shot at them multiple times, hitting Mikasa's arm successfully as she let out a small wail. But she didn't stop. The two ran hard and fast until they finally took refuge behind the large building, coming face to face with one of the big, dark van's belonging to the agency. Eren, who was already inside, slid open the door and called out to the two rushing towards him. Armin wanted to stop running and turn around, tempted to pull back and find refuge elsewhere seeing his face again, but he kept on moving due to the rush of adrenaline fighting to keep him alive. After retrieving the both of them Eren slammed the door shut and sighed with relief, Armin taking note of the gun still in his hand. He flinched and slid closer to Mikasa.

"Are they in?" Came a smooth, calm voice up in the drivers seat, sending chills down Armin's spine before he came into eye contact with a slightly older agent. He wasn't very tall, that wasn't very hard to tell, but the gaze he was giving him now would surely kill him if the guns didn't. Armin shuttered at the thought.

He noticed the expanding patch of blood forming on the girls clothed arm and quickly pulled himself away from her. "Mikasa, your bleeding!"

Mikasa held onto her wounded limb and flinched. "I'm fine."

"No, your not fine! Your bleeding pretty bad and-" Armin looked around for any sort of treatment; Band aids, some cloth, something to stop the bleeding.

Eren popped his gun silencing the blond instantly. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"Oi, put the gun down, Jaeger. If anyone gets any blood anywhere i'm going to beat the crap out of all of you." The man upfront states calmly as he without warning jerks the car back with a screech and drives off. Armin was forced back down into his seat due to the force and accidentally knocked himself against the window hitting his head.

Mikasa turns to Eren and motions for his gun. "Give that to me. Now."

"What, Why!?"

"Because you might hurt Armin and we can't have that."

Eren scowled. "Damn it Mikasa, why are you sticking up for him!?" Before she could answer the driver accelerated in speed and took a sharp turn, going back the way Armin and Mikasa came in. "Wait, that's were all the enemies are!"

"I know." The older agent says, looking into the review mirror at the three of them. "I need you all to duck and take cover. This might get a little messy." Armin gulped and watched as the man rolled down his window and pulled out another gun from the glove compartment, forcibly rammed his foot onto the gas pedal before taking aim outside.

Shots were fired one-by-one and carefully placed into the enemies outside, each of them hit the ground with a cry of pain. The teenagers in the back ducked down into their seats as the returning shots came back at them and bullets started flying everywhere, shattering the glass of each window beside them. Armin screamed and shut his eyes tight, hands covering his ears as the sound grew louder the closer they got to the entrance way. Only for a moment did he glance up at the driver in disbelief as he watched him in action in aw, amazed how he was able to keep both eyes on the road ahead of him while only making short side glances at his enemies before firing, his steady going actions indicating that he never thought twice to shoot anything that moved.

The driver managed to ram himself through the opened gateway untouched as he drove away, taking another sharp turn and tossing his gun into the passengers seat as he turned the wheel as far as it could go. The three in the back jerked left colliding into one another, Mikasa wincing in pain as her injury throbbed.

More gun fire could be heard from behind before another van pulled out after them, one much similar to the one they were in. Armin yelped and pointed it out to the driver, getting ready to take cover once again for the next round of battle. The older agent quickly took a few glances into the mirror outside to check for himself, reassuring the blond that it was one of them and not the enemy. A sense of relief washed over the teen as he placed a hand over his chest, trying to calm down his rapid heartbeat that seemed to no longer slow down - having a panic attack now would just make everything worse.

With his own problems aside, Armin instantly remembered Mikasa's condition and immediately put his attention back to her, looking over the deep wound as her shirt started to stain red.

He frowned seeing her cringe as the pain increased. "Is there any chance we can stop by at a local hospital near by?! She really needs some medical attention right now!" Armin asks desperately, trying to ignore the sharp glare he was getting from Eren who started to take off his shirt. He wrapped the garment over the wound and tide it tight making Mikasa flinch and bite her lower lip, another wave of pain.

The older agent took another turn past the red light, a few angry car horns echoing past them. "We already have medics ready to take care of her as soon as we find safety." he says. "She'll be fine until then."

"But..." Armin started, but Mikasa cut him short.

"Again, i'm fine." She looked down at Eren's shirt, quickly turning away with a tint of blush at the site of his bare chest. "This will do for now."

Eren nodded. "It's better than nothing, right? Captain Levi, how long do we have until we get there?"

"Patience brat, i'm not a taxi driver."

"S-sorry, sir!" he stuttered.

Levi rolled his eyes and took another large turn, swerving onto the freeway. Armin looked over at the driver through the mirror above. _"So that's his name."_ He thought to himself, the word very familiar to his ears. Armin could have sworn he's heard that name before somewhere...

"All right listen up." Levi started, instantly catching the trio's attention. "Were going to another base of our own located a few hours away from were we are now. There will be no pit-stops of any kind and certainly there will be no shouting or bickering at one another. Understood?"

Eren gave another strong nod of approval. "Yes sir!"

"Sure." Mikasa agrees bluntly.

Armin blinked. "Y-yes? Sir?"

Levi took a quick glance up at the blond. "Good. Now you. Do you have any sort of electronic devises on right now? A watch or phone perhaps?"

Armin shook his head. "No, Mr. Zacharius took everything I had on me."

"So then that means it's all back at the lab." Levi clicked his tongue and scowled. "Damn it."

"I-Is my stuff really all that important to you? I mean, all I had were my work clothes, my wallet, and my cell phone."

"That crap is not what matters right now."

Eren crossed his arms. "Speaking of which, were did you get that watch you had on earlier?"

"I- My what?"

"Your watch." Levi continued. "Who gave it to you?"

"Does that really matter right now?!"

"Just answer the damn question brat."

Armin looked around carefully, shifting himself closer to the shattered window. "A friend gave it to me. Why?"

"But who exactly gave it to you?" Mikasa asks. She looked just as curious as everyone else in the car did, an eerie silence swallowing the engines roar.

"His name?" Armin asked again, Mikasa gave him a single nod. "Uh...W-well his name is Marco Bott. He and I work together at the same job."

Silence descended as both Eren and Mikasa stared at him in disbelief, Levi taking his attention back onto the road ahead. Armin began to wonder whether it had been wise to reveal this information, fearing he might have put the other in danger. He hardened his glance between the two siblings and slightly lifted his head. "You...You guys know him?" he asks quietly, no more than a whisper.

"Why would Marco..." Eren started, but looked away in udder disbelief. "And he works with you? How long has he been working with you?"

The smaller hesitantly answered. "I don't know for a few months, I guess. I started out not to long ago before him really."

Levi chimed in. "He's one of our newer agents if I remember correctly, likes to cling onto that Kirstein kid too. He has a lot of freckles on him, right?"

Armin agrees. "Yes, he does."

"Why did he give it to you?" Mikasa questions.

"Ah, well Marco told me he was given the same watch for his birthday by two of his relatives, so he gave one to me."

Eren lifted a brow. "Marco's birthday is a month from now. I know because Jean keeps mumbling on about what to get him."

"As of why he gave him the watch is irrelevant right now. Now that we know who it was we need to get some answers from this guy, considering he survived the shoot out that is." Levi retorts.

Armin's eyes widened. "Wait, hang on. Marco was there?!

"Yes, like I just said he's an agent."

"Marco never told me this!? W-wait, than why does he-"

"Look kid, I don't know all the answers to your questions as of this moment, so just shut up and let me drive for now and then we can sort everything out eventually. I don't know if those guys are still on our tail and Erwin hasn't given me any in-site on anything yet."

"This...this doesn't make any sense..." Armin spoke softly, as though afraid to admit it out loud. "Marco he...What exactly did he do to the watch?"

"Really? More questions?" Levi asks, and Armin desperately wanted to stop talking, but he just couldn't!

"It was bugged. He was tracking your every move." Spoke Mikasa, her voice softened and careful. She could see the growing fear slowly consuming the blond's innocent stare.

Armin had a hard time just stomaching those few words alone. Someone who he has known and grown close to for the past three months, suddenly just felt like a total stranger in a matter of minutes. How was he suppose to react to this?

A tinge of betrayal hit him hard, the thought of Marco secretly invading his personal life seemingly a joke. He knew the other to be very kind and caring, putting others before himself even when things weren't going well at all, it was just the kind of guy he was. So why would he ever do something like that?

Marco was suppose to help him clean up after work today, so maybe there was a chance he went there instead of being in the agency this morning. That, or he called in sick to attend the 'other' job he had instead. Just the thought of Marco being dead sent shivers down his spine, images of all the bodies he had seen earlier coming back to haunt him.

Eren watched as Armin cringed and hesitantly clung leaned himself up against the edge next to the broken window beside him. He started to relax, feeling slightly more confident to the others claimed innocents. If it weren't for that grenade, who knows what he would have done to him - what would have happened to himself afterwards.

"So-" Armin started, his hope for escape growing very thin. Eren could here the defeat in his tone. "I'm not going home today, am I."

It went quiet before Levi spoke to answer, his voice cold. "No, not now that is." he said.

Tears threatened to show but Armin forcibly held them back, his long bangs draping over his weary eyes, the last piece of hope he held onto dearly vanishing into nothing.

Mikasa held her injured arm and stared helplessly, deciding to stay quiet and not hurt the fragile boy any further. She knew all to well what it was like to go through what he was feeling now; being forced to put aside your old life and put into a new one without warning, let alone with much help. She could say the same for Eren, seeing that he was thinking the same thing despite his eagerness as he mindlessly stared outside the shattered window. ,

There was no doubt in her mind at all that this was going to be a very long and quiet ride for the rest of the trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having fun writing this! Can't wait to reveal some more of the characters next chapter, I know many of you are just screaming for some Jean in there (if there are Jean Kirststein fans out there). Don't forget to review if you will and don't hesitate to leave a few kudos lying around here and there.


	3. A Simple Request

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it's better if you just leave some things alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh geez, I havent touched up this story in a while. Sorry to keep some of you waiting. I'll have the next chapter up a lot sooner next time. Please enjoy!

The long drive went on for two hours, only words of code going back and forth between the three agents that Armin knew nothing about.

Eren rambled on about Marco for a while. He still had trouble wrapping his head around that fact that he would just go and bug someones watch like that, let alone giving it to a total stranger outside of the agency. It was quit obvious his complete trust in Armin was still faltered by the sudden attack, the blond every now and then catching a glimpse of the brunets gaze borrowing down on him like a hot knife - it was gonna take a little work to win at least some of his trust back.

Mikasa on the other hand couldn't really focus on anything with the bullet lodged into her arm. Sure she was a very tough and brave girl, much more manly than Armin could ever be in his opinion, but even someone like her felt pain and could only bare with it for so long. The bleeding only subsided a little bit, but it was going to be a while before any of it actually stopped, Levi saying something about Doctors and medical supplies being at their destined location.

Armin helplessly stared at her, wishing greatly that he could do something if _anything_ to make things even a little easier for her. Despite all that has happened he felt that she was the only person that actually showed a little trust in him despite being a total stranger, he never asked her why that was and didn't plan on to any time soon.

Hours go by and the young blond somehow managed to fall asleep along the way, his dreams very vague when he awoke again to the sound of a car door slamming shut - his mind only repeating the fact that he saw nothing but red over the darkness of his thoughts.

Eren helped his sister out carefully, muttering something under his breath that only made her glare at him in warning.

Levi called out to Armin as he passed by the shattered glass next to him and roughly tapped on the car door a few times with his knuckles. Armin jolted and his eyes lit open wide in alarm, looking around carefully as he slowly began to adjust to the lighting of their new surroundings. It was still dark out, the moon shinning bright out in the star lit sky, but Armin could still tell that they were somewhere far and deep out into the wilderness.

He heard the sound of crickets in the distance as he carefully slid open the door, slightly shaking his head to help himself get out of his groggy state of mind. "What?..." He started, looking around awkwardly as he started to rub one of his eyes.

Levi came beside him and started to push him forward. "Come on, keep walking."

With a simple grunt Armin did as he was told and dragged himself across the soft grass below. He was never very good with getting himself up in the morning, let alone after a nap, so the soft whispers that surrounded him were nothing but quiet sounds.

Squinting closely through the cracks of the thick trees revealed a small patch of light up ahead, very dim but enough to make him look away before he damaged his site. As he got closer he noticed a small building, built in a thick layer of bricks as it stood tall and very sturdy. Armin blinked and turned to look at Levi. "Is this another base of yours?" He asked in a small voice, weak from exhaustion. He could have swore he saw a young deer poking it's head out from behind a large bush, but it was to dark to know for sure.

Levi gave a simple nod and pulled out his cell. "Yeah this is it, and as soon as we get inside your going to be placed in a cell until morning. It's not permanent, but for now just bare with us. And no whining, got it?"

Armin frowned, but solemnly agreed. "...Alright."

He had a gut feeling that being on this guys bad side wasn't the smartest decision, so keeping his mouth shut and doing what he was told for now wasn't the worst idea he could come up with.

They walked together in silence for the rest of the way until Levi took out his card and held it out in front of what looked like to be a small camera, the metal door unlocking itself and allowed him access to pass through the entrance way with a simple push. Armin stepped inside only to shield his face, blinded by the bright light that came from the ceiling above. He blinked a couple of times to adjust his gaze and took note on how dusty and broken down the place actually was. His own apartment wasn't the best place in the world, constantly having black outs through even the smallest storm and having a perverted land lord, but at least he took care of it and kept it well maintained. He heard Levi click his tongue and turned to see him scowling, mumbling something about rats and filth.

"I know this place isn't in the best of shape, but it will have to do for now." Came a familiar voice from behind, Armin recognizing him to be the possible leader of the bunch.

Levi crossed his arms in distaste. "Erwin, I thought you said this place was still up and running..."

"It is. The generator is still running and the ventilation system is in good shape. I know the place itself isn't in the best condition, but again it's all we have until things get better." Erwin looked down at Armin and gave him a trusting smile, catching the blond by surprise. "Everything is going to be fine, I promise. I'm sorry you had to go through what you just saw, I already know you've encountered a similar situation earlier this morning and it must be very hard for you to process all this now."

Armin looked away, suppressing the painful memories. It was a miracle to even himself as to why he was still somewhat sane. "Uh, yeah...yeah it is."

Erwin looked back at Levi. "Many of us made it but more than half are severely injured, only one that I know of died after our retreat - Kefka Franz. He bleed to death after being shot in the abdomen twice."

"Both Ackerman and Jaeger are fine, and as you can see Arlert as well. What about Hange and Mike, were they with you?"

Erwin nodded. "Hange is fine, she drove here herself after stealing one of the enemy vehicles and took Mike along with a few other survivors with her. She is how ever severally injured, she past out half way here and is still unconscious."

"She stole one of those damn vehicles to get here? How the hell did she pull that off?"

Erwin turned at the mention of his name, hearing one of his subordinates call out to him from outside. He started to turn and walk away. "You can ask her when she wakes up, but for now put Arlert away down in the basement and get a guard to watch him until sunrise, we'll deal with him in the morning."

Levi nodded and motioned for Armin to follow him. "Come on."

"Wait, what about everyone else? Shouldn't I at least help out a little?" He wanted to include, 'It is my fault anyways' but would rather not point out something so obvious and dig himself in a deeper hole. The look Levi gave him made him regret even suggesting such an offer.

"No, because not only do I not trust you entirely, but I believe everyone else here would agree to my opinion as well. Just because Ackerman's taking it easy on you doesn't mean everyone's with her, keep that in mind."

Armin lowered his head and looked away. "...Oh."

Levi let out a low sigh. "If your worried that someone will come and try to kill you in your sleep, don't. You'll be guarded for a while, so no one will come near you unless they cherish their life."

"No, that's not it." But it wasn't a thought that Armin had to worry much about until being mentioned. He held back a whimper. "How long am I going to be here?"

"For as long as we need you."

Breaking the quiet atmosphere multiple soldiers started to walk through the door, some crying aloud while others either tried to console them or did their best to deal with the situation themselves. One soldier in particular came in with a heavily wounded arm, much worse then Mikasa's injury in Armin's opinion. She snapped at a certain brunet who tried to talk her into going outside to be treated with the rest.

"I'll be fine!" She says sternly, anxiously looking around from person to person. She spotted Armin and for a second her eyes widened in hope, only to look away in disappointment with a grim scowl.

The brunet pressed on. "But Ymir, you look awful! I know your worried about Krista but at least think about yourself for once-"

"I told you, I'm fine! Go chew through a sack of potato's for all I care or help someone else if the site of blood bothers you so much!"

" Wha- A sack of potato's!?" The brunet gasps and angrily clenches her fists. "Eh!? Are people still making that joke about me!? It was seriously an accident, why can't anyone see that!? And i'm just trying to help you out so you don't have to be so rude about it!"

Another soldier ran inside with a bloody towel. "Sasha, help me out with some others outside! We only have three medical assistance's and we're running out of medical supplies!" He looked over to Ymir. "And if your looking for Krista she's taking care of Mikasa's injury by the well up front."

Ymir shoved Sasha aside and ran back out the door in a hurry, bumping a few others along the way and ignoring their complaints. Sasha only rolled her eyes and followed the other soldier outside, taking the bloody towel from him and heading off towards the rest of the injured.

Armin was glad to hear that Mikasa was at least going to be ok, even knowing that Hange was still alive seemed to take a little guilt off his chest. He exhaled and closed his eyes, his site slowly blurring out as he felt everything around him start to spin. The blond barley recognized Levi as the small man turned around to ask if he was alright, his words sounding very distant and faint before the world around him suddenly went black.

* * *

 

He woke up in a small bed covered in two thin layers of blankets, the air very dry as he slowly started to sit up, his head cloudy and throat dry.

Armin went to rub his eyes only to notice the metal chains that bounded him to the edges of the bed, keeping him in place and giving him very little movement. He shook his arm to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, hoping and almost praying that they weren't actually there. "Your kidding me..." He spoke aloud in a small groggy voice, his eyes narrowed in both disbelief and annoyance. Did these people literally consider him to be some kind of deranged animal or something!? I mean, even he knew worse people that could definatley be considered an opposed enemy if you didn't know them well enough. Were chains really necessary for someone like him?!

"Ah, you awake." Came Erwins voice from behind the bars that held the blond captive. The teen looked up at the man and frowned.

"Why did you put me in chains?" He asked, looking over to Levi who stood along side the other man. "And were am I?"

"Wow, you really can only speak in question can't you? If you don't remember, you past out yesterday before we could even make it downstairs. You've been asleep since noon."

Armin blinked a few times and slightly shook his head. How long has it been since he actually got a good nights rest again? He couldn't even remember the last time he had slept for more than a couple of hours. "Can you at least unchain me? It is kind of uncomfortable to move around like this, and I really am no threat to you, honest."

"I know this is difficult for you to handle right now but your going to have to be put under extra precaution until further notice." Erwin spoke. "As for now, while your still awake, I would like to inform you that we have not heard or scene Marco Bott since the incident. It is unclear whether or not he survived the shoot out, but I would like to ask you if you have any idea were his were about's might be as of this moment, considering he's still alive."

Armin thought about it. "I already told you I was suppose to work with him yesterday, to clean up before the customers started to come. We both work at a restaurant called The Golden River."

"The Golden River?" Levi questioned.

Armin continued. "That's right. The both of us are new so we haven't been working there very long, but we have a lot of shifts together so if I had to guess he would be there by now."

Erwin gave it some thought. "Are you certain of this? If so we are going to have to go out and find him."

"W-well, I mean he should be there, I don't know for sure if he decided to stay home or something like that."

Levi sighed. "If he's not were Arlert says he is there is a good possibility he's on the run. Tonight i'll send out my team to search for him, I'll go with them and call you if I find anything."

"How come you can't go now? Is it because you could get caught in the daylight?" Armin asked.

"No, it's because right now were all suppose to be settling in and finding what little food we have around here." Levi leans off the wall and makes his way over to the cell, placing a hand around one of the thick iron cell bars. "I also have a job to keep my eye on you, so don't even think about trying anything or else I will kill you."

Armin stiffened and gulped down a small lump in his throat. These guys really didn't trust him...

"We will be bringing you something to eat momentarily," says Erwin. "so just sit tight for a little while longer, after you've had your meal Hange would like to have a word with you."

"Hange? So she's ok!" Armin perked up, his thin chapped lips breaking into a small smile. "What about everyone else? What about Mikasa, is she alright?"

Erwin smiled back; tight, but reassuring. "Yes she's fine, along with many others, but yes there are some who have unfortunately not made it, nine to be exact."

Armin's smile fell. "Nine..." He echoed softly, glancing back down at hi chains as he lowered his head. He couldn't help the heavy pain of guilt that came down on him with the news. Fifteen casualties in one day, fifteen people that died possibly because of him, died probably never even knowing exactly what happened to them as the attack was so sudden. Maybe all of this was his fault...

"Some bled to death on the ride here and some died because of their injuries. We don't even know how many actually lost their lives at the shoot out, bastards probably took some of the bodies with them to."

The bodies? What did he mean by that? Armin looked up at Levi again. "They take bodies?"

"Yeah, every now and then they do at least. The last time we tried to catch the enemy four of us were shot and killed. We could only retrieve three bodies afterwards, one with a missing arm."

Armin narrowed his eyes. "Why would they take the bodies? Are they using them for something? Experimenting perhaps?" He leaned back and looked down at his chains. "Wait, it's possible they may still be alive and now there holding them captive."

Levi crosses his arms. "I guess your are capable of using that brain of yours after all. Hange thought the same but it still hasn't been confirmed yet. Besides the point, the sooner we get things done the better, so i'm going to go and get things ready before heading out, meaning you better eat fast kid because as soon as I come back your coming with me."

"Um, were exactly are you taking me?"

"Upstairs so Hange can get a better look at you." Says Erwin. "Depending on how well you cooperate it shouldn't be very long, now if you'll excuse us." He looks over to Levi ad motions him to follow.

Levi lets go of the cage and walks out with his commander without another word, taking only a quick side glance back at the teen before shutting the door behind him.

Now alone Armin lets out the breath he unknowingly held back, hanging his head while shifting himself into a more comfortable position. He tried to think back on the events that had happened so far, wondering how he even got himself into this mess. Was it really because of the watch? Did Marco mean to intentionally do this to him?

Marco.

A bit of sadness crept up on him at the very thought of his name. It was so hard wrap his head around the fact that Marco was the one who started all this. Marco, being one of the closest friends he has ever gotten for as long as he could remember, betrayed him, but for what reason? Why on earth would he target him of all people? Was he that easy of a target? Did he let his guard down to quickly?

Armin chuckled, placing a hand over his eyes. "I really do ask a lot of questions, don't I..." He muttered aloud to himself, holding back the warm tears that threatened to fall once more.

* * *

 

Mikasa put down her glass of water and picked up a small loaf of bread from off her plate, holding it out for Eren to take. "Here." She states, frowning when seeing him turn his head away from the offer.

"I already told you I've had enough to eat. If anything you should be the one eating, your still recovering you know."

Mikasa only nods. "I feel fine. You need to eat."

Eren clicked his tongue. "Cut the crap Mikasa, you can't even move that arm! Just quit being stubborn and eat it yourself. If you don't want it give it to Sasha."

Sasha perked up, lifting her face out of a bowl of soup and swallowing quickly. "Really, Mikasa!? Can I have it!? I'm so hungry! I can't remember the last time I actually had a decent meal!"

Connie took a bite of his own bread and smirked. "What are talking about? Before everything went to hell the both of us literally just went out to eat. I had Lunch- _you_ had a full course meal for a family of five."

Sasha turned to her friend, face flushed. "I did not!"

"Yes you did." Connie quickly retorted. "The waitress even asked us if we were expecting anybody else."

"That's because we had a large booth to ourselves, of course she would think that!"

Eren sighed and looked over to the wall clock behind him. "We have five minutes left before we have to get back to work, so can you just eat what you have and not waste food?"

Mikasa narrowed her eyes and looked down at her plate, placing the bread back on the table. "Fine." She answers calmly, looking back up at her brother as she did. Sasha let out a small pout and went back to finishing her bowl of soup. "But at least promise me you skip any meals anymore. Don't think I haven't noticed you pulling out all nighters and only eating whatever you can find left at dinner."

The brunet rolled his eyes. "I've only done that twice, it's not gonna kill me."

From another table near by Jean spoke up in an annoyed tone, back turned and lips curled into a grim snarl. "Jeager, just quit your whining and do whatever the hell your told. Maybe if you listen better she can stop babying you and finally let you eat with your own two hands."

"What was that?" Eren asks, his voice deep and threatening as he twists himself to face him.

Jean does the same, lowering his fork away from his mouth. "You heard me. Maybe if you stopped following your own orders everyone wouldn't have to keep an eye on your ass."

Eren got out of his seat, pushing his chair back a little from the force. "Wanna repeat that again horse face!? It's hard to understand someone when they try to talk with so much shit in their mouth!"

Jean clenches his fists and turns himself around. "I said you need to grow up and stop having Mikasa hold your hand for one second so she can take care of herself!" He gets out of his seat and catches Eren off guard, grabbing his shirt and pulling him forward so they could meet eye to eye. "Understand now!?"

"Get off me!" Eren shouts, shoving him away with great force. Jean continues to rant.

"Oh yeah?! And what exactly are you going to do about it, huh!? Go rogue like last weeks little incident!? I don't think putting yourself in anymore danger would be such a great idea!"

"Danger!? The only thing dangerous about you is that god awful haircut you have!"

Jean takes a couple steps forward. "Well lets see about that..."

Before he could even throw the first punch, someone instinctively grabs him by the arm and holds him back with a tight grip. Jean quickly turns around and opens his mouth to say something, but almost instantly drops his guard, his boss hovering over him with a cold and uncomfortable gaze.

Eren looked away for a moment, straitening himself out a little and taking a small step back. It hasn't been the first time the two have been caught doing this, so he was fully aware on what was about to happen, already trying to come up with an excuse to get himself out of the situation.

"There's just nothing I can do to keep you guys from laying your hands all over each other is there..." Shadis exclaims and a deep, cold voice. Everyone was silent. He glanced over to Eren, eyes narrowed and full of rage. "I don't know what crawled up your ass today Jeager, but from here on out things are _very_ different whether you like it or not. So, I highly suggest you keep your god damn hands to yourself unless otherwise. Do I make myself clear?"

Eren held his breath and clenched his teeth, tight fists loosening up. "...yes, sir."

"Good." Shadis turns his gaze back over Jean who continued to hold his breath. "And as for you..." He started, finally letting go of his arm and looking him in the eyes. "Pull a stunt like that again and I'll personally give you a lesson with hand-to-hand combat training..."

Jean looks away. "Yes...sir."

Shadis turns and starts to head for the door, looking back over his shoulder for a second towards a certain individual on his way out, giving him a very nasty look. "Don't think I've forgotten about your little 'heroic' act yesterday Springer. Make sure you stop by my office tomorrow morning if you ever want to see this weeks lunch menu,"

Connie quickly swallows his bread and straitens up. "Y-yes, Sir!"

Shadis' gave lingers for a moment before he finally stepped out and slammed the door shut. Connie sighs and slouches back down into his seat, picking up his slice of bread again and carelessly starting to chew on it.

Sasha lifts a brow. "What exactly did you do to make him so angry?"

"Sasha, that guy is probably the angriest out of everyone in this room. Hell, Eren's a freakin saint compared to him, honestly." Connie says.

Jean gets back into his seat and picks up his glass before noticing a certain blond staring at him. He narrowed his eyes and lowers his arm. "What?" The blond instantly looks away and continues with her dinner, starting up a new conversation with another girl beside her.

"Oh, by the way." Sasha chimes in again. "There's a strange rumor going around that Captain Levi has someone locked up here. A possible suspect for the cause of the attack." For a moment, the table went silent, some exchanging a few uncomfortable glances.

Connie cleared his throat. "I think it's just a rumor. I mean, how on earth would they catch someone so quickly?"

Eren grimaced. He knew _very_ well who she was talking about, and needed to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible. It was entirely his fault! Why the hell would anyone trust him at all to begin with!? Why would _he_ trust him to begin with?! If he had just kept his guard up a little longer...

"Eren-" Mikasa says in a quiet voice, pulling the brunet away from his thoughts. "Your food. It's getting cold."

Eren looked down at his bowl. "What are you talking about, there's hardly anything left."

"But there is something there."

Eren rolled his eyes. "Fine." He lifted his bowl up to his mouth and scrapped whatever's left inside - whatever was left inside Mikasa apparently thought was necessary - and swallowed it all down whole. "Happy?" Mikasa didn't say anything, continuing to eat her own meal.

Sasha let out a forced chuckle. "Alright then. I think it's time we all head back to help the rest of the injured, wounds aren't gonna heal themselves you know, hehe." She made an effort to get up but no one followed, only silence. She bit her lip nervously. "O-or, we can stay here a while longer..."

"No, Sasha's right." Mikasa got out of her seat and adjusted her scarf. "We should keep moving. Sitting here doing nothing isn't going to get anything done."

 _"Not while he's still here."_ Eren thought, but kept that to himself. He got out of his own chair with a sigh and glanced over to Jean. "Fine, but I'm going to re-wrap the wound on your arm, alright?" He saw no reaction from the teen, but felt a little satisfactory knowing that he was probably boiling on the inside.

Mikasa lifted her scarf a little. "...If that's alright with you."

"Oh! I'll help if you want!" Sasha offered.

Connie shook his head. "No good. Remember, the both of us are actually in charge of counting the medical supplies today. We have to make sure we have enough."

"Crap, that's right! Sorry Mikasa."

Mikasa nodded. "It's alright. Anyway's we should get going." She looked over to Eren who had already started to take his leave, following him in pursuit before shutting the door behind them.

Jean clicked his tongue and took a bite out of his bread. Damn idiot. Does he not see how lucky he is? Why the hell does he get to always hang around her anyways? Why does she even hang around him at all!? He angrily swallowed and got up from his seat, the blond girl near by glancing over at him again. He scowled at her. "What the hell is up with you!?"

She flinched, looking down at his food. "A-are you not going to finish that?"

Jean looked back at his poor excuse of a meal. This place should really work on buying stuff that possibly isn't expired. "Why, do you want this crap? Cause, you can have it."

"No-no, I don't want it. It's just that...well-"

"Krista, why do you even care about two shades? Let him starve for all I care." Came the girl who sat next to her. She looked much different then the other, a lot less cute in many ways Jean could think of. He knew very little about her, but it didn't take a genius to figure out she had some sort of weird connection with that Krista girl, she clung to her like Mikasa to Eren.

"Ymir, please stop." Krista pleaded. "We've all been through a lot today, I'm just trying to help out a little."

The ugly one smiled at Krista and put an arm around her. "Aw, isn't that sweet! Trying to keep the peace around here even when we all get sent strait to hell. Promise me when this is all over you'll marry me, K?"

Krista flushed. "Y-ymir!"

Jean scoffed and turned to walk away. "Look, it's nice that you seem to care and all, but I really don't need to be looked out for. I can take care of myself just fine-" Suddenly something started to buzz in his pocket, most likely his phone. He pulled it out and looked down at the user name of the caller. Unknown.

"Who's that? Your mama?" Ymir squawked. Now Jean started to see why so many talked crap about her when she wasn't looking.

"Shut up." He said before leaving the room. If this was his mom however, what was he suppose to say to her? He couldn't go home now as no one was sure if anyone was out of the woods just yet. He could at least tell her he was alive, right? He slid the call button open and put the devise to his ear. "Yeah, what is it?"

Nothing but static came from the other end of the line, a faint voice being heard from in between. Jean lifted a brow. What the hell was this?

"Oi, who is this?" He asked again, this time he heard the voice loud and clear, a very familiar voice.

 _"Jean"_ It spoke, it's tone quiet but desperate. Jean's eyes widened. It can't be...

"What the... Marco?" He lowered his voice, looking around to see if there was anyone else near by. Why was he being so jumpy about this? It was like he could just feel something just wasn't... well, right. It just didn't seem right to talk to Marco at all. Was it because of his tone? Were was he anyways? "W-were are you? Are you ok?" He asked, forcing himself to calm down. Does this idiot know how _worried_ he was about him? It amazed even himself how agitated this phone call alone made him.

 _"-isten to me. -eed you -o -ind -in_ _"_

What the hell... "I-I can't hear you?" Jean went over to a near by window, hoping to get better connection. "What are you-"

_"-avor. I need you to -ill"_

Jean clicked his tongue and cursed to himself. What on earth was going on!?

He heard some movement come from the other end of the line, enough movement to clear up much of the static breaking his call. Marco seemingly swallowed and muttered something to himself before saying, _"I need you to do me a favor. I can't be on long so listen."_ Jean made a move to say something- anything! But was cut off immediately. _"I need you to go find someone named Armin Arlert. He should be somewhere safe with you guys, most likely being kept in the safe room or something."_

Jean blinked, surprised."Hold on. Who are you talking abou-"

_"Listen, Jean- Listen! I need you to find him, quickly!"_

"Alright-alright! But could you at least tell me why first!?" He asks in a loud whisper, looking around some more to make sure no one was in ear shot; unexpectedly caught off guard by what the other asked him to do next.

_"I need you to make sure he stay's away from everyone, especially Hange. Jean...I need you to kill him."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so much planned for this story! Much of it will be pretty sad and there will be death, but it will kinda be a lot of fun to write! Remember, comments are very helpful. Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So, what did you guy's think of the first chapter? To little? To much? I had fun writing the first chapter so I can't wait to write the next one. This also took allot of time, so if this chapter gets a lot of reviews i'll be much more motivated to send out the next chapter sooner. I hope you all enjoyed it! Again, reviews and kudos are very appreciated. :)


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